


After The Fall

by potervs



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Drunk Driving, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-08 05:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10379988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potervs/pseuds/potervs
Summary: "Sometimes I look back and think how it all came to be, the events of that day and the state we are in. Maybe it was because I was not with him, too busy with my work. And here’s where all of our friends are here for me, to remind me that I had nothing to deal with the darkest night of my life."Grantaire has an accident and Enjolras reminiscesInspired loosely by the song by Kodaline of the same title





	

Sometimes I look back and think how it all came to be, the events of that day and the state we are in. Maybe it was because I was not with him, too busy with my work. And here’s where all of our friends are here for me, to remind me that I had nothing to deal with the darkest night of my life. Most nights I wake up hearing rain, distant screeching tires, a faint scream and a body hitting the ground hard. The words “accident” and “drunken driver” had been tattooed permanently in my brain, an excuse, an explanation, a reason, the response to the millions of questions that I had in my brain. And even though it had answered all the questions, it wasn’t enough for me, it would never be enough.

I liked to pace around the hospital hall when his room seemed to get smaller and the ticking of the clock reminded me of the seconds he was not by my side. The nurses and doctors of the floor he was in already knew me, after all, I was there everyday at every spare time I had, which usually meant early morning, lunch and the hours after work. I did not want to miss a moment, just in case he woke up. I wanted to be there for him.

Our friends came to visit as often as they could, they brought their support and well wishes. They came to check on him, to see if he had made any progress, sadly he had not made one in the six months that he had been in the hospital in a coma. The first week I had not been able to get the word “coma” out, I guess I was too afraid for it to be real. I remember the look on doctor Medina’s eyes, the sadness that emanated from them, and the worry of how I would react. I suppose he thought that I would start screaming, but I just stood there in shock. I could not believe it, I had seen him not forty minutes ago, when he left for the Chinese place two blocks away from our apartment with a smile in his lips. He had been teasing me for my growling stomach. I had the bad tendency to ignore hunger when I was working, and it was a very important case, so it made it almost impossible for me to break concentration, only he managed to distract me from work. It seemed as if his voice would be the only thing capable of getting my attention besides my case that night, he spoke softly at my side:

\- “I know you’re really busy saving the world from injustice and all that shit but your stomach has been growling for the last fifteen minutes, so no matter what you say I’m going to get us food. Chinese okay with you?”

I looked up from my computer to answer him

\- “Okay, don’t forget the fortune cookies”

He laughed at me, pecked me on the cheek, grabbed his wallet, keys and phone, the umbrella and left to get us food. I resumed my typing and continued to work on the case. But something started to feel wrong, it had been a while since he had left, he never took this long to get food from the Chinese place. I decided to call him but he didn’t answer, I tried several times but I only heard the machine. I started to panic. After a couple of minutes my phone rang and I picked it up:

\- “Grantaire! Answer your phone, you were worrying me!”

\- “Sorry sir, this is the doctor Medina from the hospital, we are calling you for Grantaire, he suffered an accident and you are his emergency contact”

\- “What happened?! Wait, I’m going to the hospital”

\- “Alright sir, we will wait for you”

I still remember how my body froze, he was in the hospital. I grabbed the car keys and drove to the hospital. It was pouring outside, I had to drive carefully. When I arrived the doctor was waiting for me in the entrance. Everything was blurry, seeing him in the bed with a bandage in his head, the doctor trying to explain to me that a drunken driver had run over him, leaving him in a coma, and that no one knew when he would wake up. It all felt too much - he had been okay; he had been with me - the uncertainness of it all had left me speechless. I sat in the chair beside his bed, I saw his vitals on the machine, he was still alive, the constant beeping became my only relief. After an hour I called Combeferre, the news were just beginning to dawn on me. I just told him that Grantaire was in the hospital and he came as fast as he could with Courfeyrac. When they arrived they both hugged me tightly. It was only then when I broke down. They stayed with me the whole night, waiting for the room where they were going to move Grantaire in. After he had been put in a room, Combeferre and Courfeyrac told our other friends of the accident and took me to my apartment, where I showered and slept for a while. I left the apartment as soon as I woke up and I picked up some food on my way to the hospital. This would soon become my usual routine.

The accident had been six months ago in April and he was still in the hospital, his heart still beating and all of his vitals okay. It was September and the autumn chill was starting. I entered his room with a cup of coffee in my hand, I closed the window a bit and pulled the blanket to cover his legs, and I sighed. Some days were harder than others, some days I would break down and cry, begging for his recovery to any deity that would listen. Today was one of those hard days. I still did what I always did, I held his hand while I told him about my day and any colourful story of our friends, but as soon as I opened my mouth I felt my voice breaking and the tears streaming down my face, I missed him terribly. Even though my tears blurred my vision I noticed that my tears had fallen in his hand so I rubbed my thumb in an attempt to dry it. This action distracted me and I failed to notice the gentle squeeze back I was receiving. I look up to see his face and I notice his blue eyes staring back at me, my eyes fill with tears again and he slowly lifts his hand to wipe the falling tears. He smiles and I smile back. Everything is going to be alright.


End file.
